This Spatial Narrative Journal explores the Mausoleum of Lê Văn Duyệt as a living historical and cultural landmark that has endured for more than a century in the heart of Saigon - Gia Định. Rather than viewing the site as a static monument, the project approaches it as a spatial experience shaped by architecture, ritual, memory, and everyday use.
Using plans and sections, material studies, multi-sensory mapping, subjective mapping, and analytical charts, the journal documents how space, atmosphere, and movement interact. The sequence of gates, courtyards, and sanctuaries creates moments of contraction and expansion, encouraging pauses and reflection. Sensory elements, such as incense smoke, the rustling of leaves, damp moss, and the scent of frangipani, soften the surrounding urban noise and contribute to a calm, contemplative environment.
Triptychs also highlights the role of feng shui principles, imperial decorative arts, and symbolic forms in expressing Vietnamese beliefs in harmony, balance, and continuity. Traces left by visitors reveal the coexistence of the sacred and the everyday, emphasizing that the mausoleum remains a living heritage rather than a relic of the past.
Through layered representation, this journal reflects my personal process of learning through experience, showing how historical spaces continue to shape identity and collective memory within the evolving city.
